Method and shear-driven micro-fluidic pump

ABSTRACT

An example includes an apparatus to pump a fluid. The apparatus includes a housing extending along a length defining an elongate interior, an actuator in the housing, conforming to the elongate interior, the actuator including a plurality of lumens, each having a length extending substantially parallel to the elongate interior, each from around 10 to 200 micrometers across and an actuator configured to oscillate the actuator in the actuator housing along the length of the elongate interior with a rate differential between movement in a first direction versus movement in a second direction opposite the first direction to pump the fluid.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/947,993, filed Jul. 22, 2013 by Nihad Daidzic and titled “Sheardriven micro-fluidic pump” (which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,528,503 onDec. 27, 2016), which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C.§119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/770,250, filed Feb. 27,2013 and titled “Shear driven micro-fluidic pump,” and claims thebenefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(a)-(d) to Italian ApplicationNo. TO2013A000161, filed Feb. 27, 2013 and titled “Shear drivenmicro-fluidic pump” (which issued as Italian Patent No. 1417117 on Jul.24, 2015), each of which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND

Heat exchange is an important design consideration. Heat exchangers suchas heat sinks or heat emitters can benefit many systems by transferringheat away from, or to, a heat source. There are a number of attributesto consider when designing a heat-exchange system to cool anothersystem. Size, mass, cost, performance and reliability each are importantfactors. In order to address some or all of these factors, systems canbe designed in which a cooling fluid is circulated nearby a heat sourceto cool the heat source. Such systems can include pumps to circulatefluid. Small, low-cost designs are desirable.

Existing micro-fluidic pumps are small, but they can be unreliable,expensive, and can have many moving components, including sensitivemicrovalves prone to breaking. They can be quite inefficient with largetransducer power consumption and large leakage flows. Many requirestrong electrostatic forces or other forces that cannot be efficientlygenerated at small scales. Mechanical micropumps can be used but theycan be affected with some of aforementioned problems.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, like numeralscan describe similar components in different views. Like numerals havingdifferent letter suffixes can represent different instances of similarcomponents. The drawings illustrate generally, by way of example, butnot by way of limitation, various embodiments discussed in the presentdocument.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for pumping a fluid, according to anexample.

FIG. 2A illustrates an elevated perspective view of an actuator of apump, according to an example.

FIG. 2B is the cross-sectional view of an actuator, according to anexample.

FIG. 3 is the top view of an actuator including a plurality of guidingrails, according to an example.

FIG. 4 is the top view of an actuator including a plurality of guidingrails, according to an example.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an actuator drive, according to an example.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of a multiple actuator pump, according to anexample.

FIG. 7A is an elevated perspective view of an actuator including annularand radial divisions, according to an example.

FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view of an actuator include annular andradial divisions, according to an example.

FIG. 8 is a schematic showing valve function, according to an example.

FIG. 9 is an elevated perspective view of a rectangular plungerincluding flaps, according to an example.

FIG. 10 is a schematic of a pump configuration including two pumps andtwo actuators, according to an example.

FIG. 11A illustrates a first mode of operation of a two actuator pumpingsystem, according to an example.

FIG. 11B illustrates a second mode of operation of a two actuatorpumping system, according to an example.

FIG. 11C illustrates two actuators aligned in series to pump fluid,according to an example.

FIG. 12 illustrates a rectified-sine (absolute sine) form illustrating aquick return driving waveform, according to an example.

FIG. 13 illustrates a square-type driving waveform, according to anexample.

FIG. 14 illustrates behavior of a non-Newtonian fluid, according to anexample.

FIG. 15 illustrates behavior of a non-Newtonian fluid, according to anexample.

FIG. 16 illustrates a negative feedback control loop, according to anexample.

FIG. 17 illustrates a method of using a pump, according to an example.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Present disclosure relates to shear-driven micro-fluidic pumps(“SDMFP”). The shear-driven microfluidic pump oscillates an actuator(e.g., a piston with small lumens disposed therethrough) to producehigh-pressures and high fluid flow rates of a fluid (e.g., liquid or gasor a combination thereof) based on non-harmonic actuator motionimparting a speed differential between forward stroke and return stroke.Motion can be imparted onto the pump by a micro-solenoid or apiezo-transducer. In some examples, the pump includes valves such asmicrovalves to augment performance.

There are many advantages exhibited by the present subject matter. Theshear-driven micro-fluidic pump SDMFP examples disclosed herein canemploy pumping of fluids on millimeters and sub-millimeter (micrometer)scales and can be more cost effective, robust, and reliable thanexisting micro-fluidic (MEMS) pumping systems.

Beneficial aspects include one or more of: improved total micro-pumpefficiency (10-50%); improved ease of manufacturing; reduced cost ofmanufacturing; and improved flexibility to manufacture SDMFP in varioussizes from about 50 micrometer to 10 millimeter for various MEMStechnical and biomedical/medical applications. The simplicity of thepump and the inherent fail-safe design with fewer elements can beespecially helpful in biomedical and medical applications.

A working principle behind a SDMFP can be the viscous diffusion ofvorticity. Such vorticity can be created at the moving wall in order tosatisfy the no-slip condition. Vorticity can be diffused into the fluidthrough the mesoscopic phenomenological momentum transport coefficient,i.e., viscosity. This phenomenon can be similar to the phenomenon of howheat can be diffused using the thermal diffusivity as transportcoefficient. As an analogous example, one can visualize oscillatingwalls (boundaries) creating dissipative transverse pseudo shear-waves.Such shear-waves can propagate perpendicular to fluid motion and cannotreflect from the boundaries as they do not have ability to store andrelease potential energy.

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for pumping a fluid, according to anexample. The SDMFP 100 consists of one or more actuators 102, anactuator drive 104 (micro-solenoid, piezo-transducer, linear DCmicro-motor, etc.) and a housing 106. The actuator drive 104 can includea micro-solenoid. A piezo-transducer can deliver high pressures andforces but the stroke can be short. A force/displacement converter canbe used (e.g., a lever) to deliver required action over the entirestroke length.

The housing 106 can extend along a length 116 defining an elongateinterior 118. The actuator 102 can be disposed in the housing 106,conforming to the elongate interior 118. The pump 100 can be from around30 millimeters in length, 15 millimeters in width and 15 millimeters inheight. These dimensions can apply to the exterior of the housing 106.

A circulation loop 108 can include various conduits, manifolds and thelike. The pumped flow 110 can be caused by the actuator 120 oscillatingin housing 106. The oscillation can occur at a rate differential betweenmovement in a first or forward direction or stroke 112 versus movementin a second or return direction or stroke 114 opposite the first stroke112.

The actuator 102 can include a plurality of lumens 120. Each of thelumens 120 can have a length extending substantially parallel to theelongate interior 118, such as to a surface or axis thereof. Each of thelumens 120 can measure from around 10 to 200 micrometers across.Examples lumens can include microtubes or micro-channels disposed in theactuator 102. At least one of the plurality of lumens has a rectilinearshape in cross-section. At least one of the plurality of lumens has acircular shape in cross-section. The plurality of lumens can bedistributed according to a regular pattern. The plurality of lumens canbe distributed according to a random pattern, as illustrated. Theplurality of lumens comprise from around 60% to 80% of a cross-sectionalarea of the actuator. The plurality of lumens comprise from around 78.5%of a cross-sectional area of the actuator.

As the actuator moves according to a forward stroke 112, fluid such asfluid can be pulled through the lumens and thus through the housing 106.The return stroke 114 can be faster than the forward stroke 112. In anexample, the return stroke is from 100 to 1000 times faster.Accordingly, movement in the return direction can be at a frequency thatcan be from around 100 to around 1000 times faster than movement in theforward direction. Movement in the return direction can be around 1000hertz, and movement in the forward direction can be at around 10 hertz.The movement in the return direction can be around 10000 hertz, andmovement in the forward direction can be at around 10 hertz. Themovement in the return direction can be around 2000-5000 hertz, andmovement in the forward direction can be at from around 20-50 hertz.Simple harmonic period motion can windmill the fluid.

The movement in the forward direction can be a forward distance from 0.5to 5 millimeters in 100 to 500 milliseconds, and movement in the returndirection can be a return distance 0.5 to 5 millimeters in 1 to 2milliseconds. The forward distance and the return distance can besubstantially equivalent. The actuator can be configured to move in theforward direction at an average speed of around 30-50 millimeters persecond.

The average and/or instantaneous speeds in forward and return stroke ofthe wall can vary. These can depend on specific conditions desired in anapplication. The fluid can have an “effective” speed that is the complexinteraction of the wall/interface/boundary speeds, vorticity diffusion,shear stresses, geometry, etc. The SDMFP pump can, in a period, e.g., 1second, move fluid forward 10 mm and then pulls it back 3 mm in a returnstroke. Accordingly, “effective” speed of the fluid can be 10−3=7 mm/s.For example, the average wall velocities can be 10 mm/s in a forwardstroke and 1000 mm/s (1 m/s) in a return stroke. Different designs willhave various “effective” fluid speeds ranging from about 5 to 50 mm/s.The wall speeds in forward and return stroke can vary from about 5 to5000 mm/s.

The forward motion 112 can be caused by, for example, applying a 5Vcurrent to a micro-solenoid current at several mA. Other voltages can beused. The current can travel through the coil and force the actuator 102forward, such as in response to magnetic fields interactions. Reversemotion can be achieved by high reverse-current in micro-solenoid.Reverse motion can be achieved by adverse fluid pressure action.

Very fast return motion can create partial or full slip on the boundary.This can be caused by simultaneous actuator impulse heating of the thininner wall layers, which can involve hyperbolic heat transfer. TheStokes penetration layer can be shorter than in a forward stroke andpump leakage can be minimized.

The size of the lumens is important. The diffusive momentum transfer candecay exponentially from the generating wall. Therefore the range offriction forces can be quite short. This is at least partially why suchpumping concept do not work (or can be inefficient) on macro scales suchas in tubes, larger than 1 millimeter. Additionally, micro-tubes withless than 1-5 micrometers can have partial slip associated with them(molecular effects in general) and can be more difficult and expensiveto manufacture.

Molecular dynamic (MD) or Monte-Carlo (MC) simulations and the use ofLattice-Boltzmann (LBM) computations can be used to find the lower rangeof operation. Very high pressures (in excess of several bars) can beachieved with very small micro-tubes. Accordingly, the lumens 120 can be10 to 200 micrometers in diameter.

The SDMFP can for a part of a system 124. The system can include a heatexchanger 122. The heat exchanger 122 can include an emission portion,such as fins. An internal portion of the heat exchanger 122 can be influid communication with the circulation loop 108. An external portion132 of heat emission portion 122, thermally conductive with the internalportion 130, can be configured to exchange heat with a cold source, suchas an airflow, for example created by a fan.

The system 124 can include at least one heat exchanger 126 to exchangeheat with an external object 128. For example, the heat exchanger 126can include an internal portion 136 in fluid communication with thecirculation loop 108 or forming a part thereof, and configured toexchange heat via an external portion 134 in communication with a heatsource 128, such as an integrated circuit. The integrated circuit formsa part of a computer comprising a random-access memory. The integratedcircuit forms a part of a computer comprising an embedded processor. Athermally conductive material such as grease can form part of theinterface between the heat exchanger 126 and the heat source 128. Thepresent subject matter extends to embodiments in which heat is exchangedfrom and to the external object 128. Embodiments in which heat transferto the heat source is endothermic for the heat source can add heat tothe heat exchanger 122.

A flow-rate sensor 138 can sense a flow rate of the flow 110. The pump100 can be configured to adjust the oscillation in association with theflow rate. A temperature sensor 140 can sense a temperature. The pump100 can be configured to adjust the oscillation in association with thetemperature. A differential-pressure sensor 142 can sense a differentialpressure. The pump 100 can be configured to adjust the oscillation inassociation with the differential pressure.

FIG. 2A illustrates an elevated perspective view of an actuator 200 of apump, according to an example. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of anactuator 202, according to an example. FIG. 2B also illustrates ahousing 208, that can house the actuator 202. The actuator 200 comprisesa shear-driven micro-fluidic pump, cylindrical (“SDMFPC”), in which theactuator 200 has a cylindrical shape. The lumens illustrated representan arbitrary sample of what can be hundreds of lumens, and thus examplesare not limited to the location or size of the lumens, which arerepresentative illustrations.

Geometries other than cylindrical can be used. Examples include, but arenot limited to, rectilinear shapes, triangular shapes, ellipticalshapes, and the like. The actuator cylinder 210 can be made of plasticor metal. The material can be relatively easy to form. Example formingprocesses for the actuator cylinder 210 include, but are not limited to,machining, such as by drilling, micro-molding, micro-casting and thelike.

FIG. 2B also illustrates a pump motor stator 212. The stator 212 canform a part of a micro-solenoid in which the actuator 202 is the rotor.In such examples, a ring of ferrous material, such as soft iron oranother material can be attached to the outer surface of the cylinder214. A plurality of lumens 206, optionally hundreds of small tubes(e.g., micro-tubes or μ-tubes) can be formed in the cylinder 214.Example forming processes for the lumens include, but are not limitedto, drilling, such as laser or ultrasound drilling, injection-molding,micro-casting and the like. The actuator 202 can have diameter of 2, 5,or 10 mm and length of 5-20 mm. Each micro-tube has the same length of,say 10 mm, and the diameter of 25 (SHP), 50 (HP), 100 (MP), to 200 (LP)micrometers.

An SDMFPC with diameter of 5 mm and length of 10 mm can include 500micro-tubes of 100 micrometer diameter. The forward stroke can be 2 mmachieved in 100 milliseconds (10 Hz) resulting in an average forwardspeed of 20 mm/s.

In examples using a rectified-sine waveform (see, e.g., FIG. 13), theaverage forward speed can be 14 mm/s. The average speed of the fluid formedium pressure gradients can be 11 mm/s. The return stoke can be thesame length (e.g., 2 mm) but of shorter duration, e.g., 1 millisecond(1000 Hz or 1 kHz). The average return speed can be thus 2 m/s (2000mm/s).

In examples using an inverted rectified-sine waveform the average returnspeed can be 1.4 m/s (1400 mm/s). The return stroke can affect or onlyaffect a thin layer and cause return flow while the bulk fluid can stillbe moving forward. Thus in such instances the cycle-averaged forwardspeed can be around 10 mm/s for moderate pressure gradients.Super-high-performance (SHP) SDMFPs can have average forward speed inthe range 30-50 mm/s.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an actuator assembly 300 including aplurality of guiding rails, according to an example. An outer housing302 can house a micro-solenoid coil 304. The micro-solenoid coil can besandwiched between the outer housing 302 and an inner housing 312. Theinner housing can form a housing for the actuator 310. A smallclearance. e.g. of about 10-20 micrometers, can be defined between theplunger/actuator and the inner water-tight housing. As disclosed herein,the actuator 310 can include lumens such as micro-tubes 308. Thecross-sectional view illustrates guiding rails 306 that can provide forpump actuation into an out of the page, while resisting rotation aroundan axis into the page.

FIG. 4 is the top view of an actuator assembly 400 including a pluralityof guiding rails, according to an example. An outer housing 402 canhouse a micro-solenoid coil 404. The micro-solenoid coil can besandwiched between the outer housing 402 and an inner housing 412. Theinner housing can form a housing for the actuator 410. A small clearance406, e.g. of about 10-20 micrometers, can be defined between theplunger/actuator and the inner water-tight housing. As disclosed herein,the actuator 410 can include lumens such as micro-tubes 408. Thecross-sectional view illustrates an absence of guiding rails.Accordingly, the actuator 410 is free to rotate around an axis into thepage. As disclosed herein, the actuator 410 can be magnetic. Theactuator 410 can be formed as a composite including a magnetic portion,such as a coating or jacket.

FIG. 5 is a side view of an actuator drive 500, according to an example.The actuator 504 is slideably disposed in inner housing 512. Amicro-solenoid coil 502 can be coiled around it the inner housing 512.The current direction and strength in the coil can be controlled bymicrocontroller to deliver slow forward and fast return movements. Thecontroller can coordinate the operation of a voltage source 510 toprovide DC voltage. The polarity of the voltage source 510 can bereversed to encourage pumping. The current 508 can be reversible.Accordingly, SDMFP examples can be bi-directional, in that they canreverse pumping direction, such as by changing actuation.

FIG. 6 is a schematic of a multiple-actuator pump, according to anexample. A SDMFP for SHP (Super High Pressure) can provide increasedperformance with multiple short actuators 602 disposed in a housing 604to increase entrance effects in return stroke. The actuators 602 canmove in unison.

FIG. 7A is an elevated perspective view of an actuator 700 includingannular and radial divisions, according to an example. FIG. 7B is across-sectional view of an actuator 700 including annular and radialdivisions, according to an example. A shear-driven micro-fluidic pump,annular (“SDMFPA”), including an annular actuator 700, can be formed byseveral processes, including, but not limited to, micro-machining,injection micro-molding and micro-casting. The material can be plasticor metal. Thin co-axial cylinders 702 intersect radial spreaders 704 toform thin curved slits 706 that can be used to transport fluid by theperiodic non-harmonic excitations disclosed herein.

The geometric dimensions of the shear-driven micro-fluidic pump,cylindrical (“SDMFPC”) can be used as in the SDMFPA. The SDMFPA canoffer a higher luminal cross-sectional area when compared to the SDMFPC.Among SDMFPA slits, the same slit heights, e.g. 50, 100 or 200micrometers can be formed around a circumference of the SDMFPA. Slitscan vary in height from ring to ring.

The actuator can be comprised of co-axial cylinders intersected byradial spreaders defining a plurality of curved slits. Each of the slitscan have a slit-bisecting arc length of from 25-200 micrometers. Each ofthe slits can have a radial width of around 50 micrometers. At least oneof the co-axial cylinders can be around 50 micrometers in thickness.

The SDMFPA can define less solid surface, which can lead to lowerpumping effort. The co-axial design of the SDMFPA can be used for highflow (“HF”) with medium pressure (“MP”) or low-pressure (“LP”)performance. The actuator can be manufactured inexpensively. Thethickness of the co-axial cylinders can be constant (e.g., 50micrometers; e.g. a foil such as a metal foil). The SDMFPA can be easierto manufacture by injection micro-molding and micro-casting thandrilling hundreds of micro-tubes. If a micro-solenoid is used as adriving principle, a stator can surround an actuator housing, and theactuator 700 can be made of thin cylindrical metal foils that comprise arotor.

Regarding any of the actuators disclosed herein, if the Womersley numberexceeds 10, the size of the channel/duct can be tenfold Stokes'penetration depth. Accordingly, some or most of the fluid does notexperience the presence of the oscillating wall. For a Womersley numberless than one the diffusion length can be on the order of thegeometrical length of the actuator and all the fluid can move in-phasewith the moving boundary. The forward stroke can be relatively slow andpull the fluid forward. The return stroke can be very fast and affectsthe thin layer close to wall. Effectively such non-harmonic (period)oscillations can result in net forward flow (pumping). The smaller theduct scale the faster it can be to move in forward and return stroke.Simultaneously, a smaller duct can be used to overcome higherbackpressures.

High-performance (“HP”) and super-high-performance (“SHP”) ducts, suchas micro-tubes, can have small diameters (10 to 50 micrometers) and canbe used in forward stroke with the frequency of 20-50 Hz and in returnstroke of 2-5 kHz. The driving frequencies in the forward and returnstroke for the given micro-tube diameter can be determined inassociation with a determined fluid kinematic viscosity. In the forwardstroke the fluid velocity in the core region can be less than 80% of theaverage wall velocity. On the other hand, the return stroke frequencycan be very high. In certain examples, the interior fluid velocity(e.g., at the center of the tube) does not decrease below 10% of themaximum wall velocity.

The return Reynolds number can be 100 times larger than forwardRe-number on average. During the fast return stroke the flow can remainsubstantially laminar. Turbulence onset and large amplitude entranceeffects of Tolmien-Schlichting waves can have little or no time todevelop and can be quickly suppressed if they do develop. If theReynolds number is 1000 (SHP) in rapid return, the flow can remainlaminar. The time for oscillation period can be about2-orders ofmagnitude shorter than for diffusive transport in return stroke.Accordingly, the momentum from the wall resists penetration deep intofluid during the return stroke.

FIG. 8 can be a schematic showing valve function, according to anexample. An SDMFP can include a microvalve. A Gurney-type flap thatresembles a leaf-spring with a small tab at the end can be used toamplify hydrodynamic or inertial forces as desired. An elastic flap 802can close in actuator return stroke. The closing can be contributed toor caused by pressure and inertial forces. In the slow forward strokethe tab 804 can create hydrodynamic forces and the moments that canovercome spring effect and open it fully against the upper wall in therectangular channel, e.g. as shown in FIG. 9. A leaf-spring hysteresiscan be used to improve pumping action. Very high pressure can beachieved by combining shear and valve action.

Several other pumping mechanisms can be combined with and withoutmicro-valves to enhance pumping efficiency. For example, we can usesurface forces in the 4 corners of a rectangular plunger to provideadditional pumping due to moving contact lines and surface forcesdynamics.

Some SDMFP designs do not include microvalves. When Gurney-flap typemicrovalves are used larger channel dimensions can be used, and higherpressures can be achieved.

FIG. 9 is an elevated perspective view of a rectangular plungerincluding flaps, according to an example. It shows a first channel 902and a second channel 904, with a center plate 906 that can be coupled toone or more valves.

FIG. 10 can be a schematic of a pump configuration including two pumpsand two actuators, according to an example. SDMFPs can be arranged towork in serial-parallel combination and powered by one or more driversas shown with an example in FIG. 10. The pump 1002 can be a first pump,and a second pump 1006 can be coupled to the circulation loop 1010 inparallel with the first pump. A third pump 1004 can be coupled to thecirculation loop 1010 in series with the first pump 1002. A fourth pump1008 can be coupled to the circulation loop 1010 in parallel with thethird pump 1006. For certain operations one driver can be shut-down.

Four SDMFPs can be integrated into one housing (say, L30×W15×H15 mm).Two SDMFP 1002, 1004 can be in a series can be powered by onemicro-actuator 1012 such as a micro-solenoid. The other parallel twoSDMFPs 1006, 1008 can be powered by a second micro-actuator 1014. Anentire side can be shut for a part of a heat-transfer operation when apower consumption reduction is desired.

FIG. 11A illustrates a first mode of operation of a two-actuator pumpingsystem, according to an example. FIG. 11B illustrates a second mode ofoperation of a two-actuator pumping system, according to an example.FIG. 11C illustrates two actuators aligned in series to pump fluid,according to an example. Actuators 1102-1108 of a first pump 1108 and asecond pump 1110 can move in unison or against each other.

Several actuators can work in serial/parallel combination to increasehead and/or flow rates (capacity). For very high pressures an actuatorcan be split into several smaller cylinders to enhance entrance floweffects in reverse strokes.

Certain examples split the actuator into several shorter components toimprove tube entrance effects in return stroke, which can reduce pumpleakage. For example, for a 100 micrometer radius micro-tube with H₂Oand effective constant wall drift speed of 5 mm/s, the adverse pressuregradient that can be overcome is 4,000 Pa/m (4 kPa/m or 40 mbar/m). Thepumping effort of 10 mm actuator can be 40 Pa. In the case of a 50micrometer micro-tubes (e.g., with a diameter of 100 micrometers) theeffective wall speed can be 15 mm/s, the maximum pressure gradient canbe 192 kPa/m or 1920 Pa (1.92 kPa or 19.2 mbar) maximum pumping effort.

Two actuators in a series can deliver around 4,000 Pa (4 kPa or 40 mbar)pumping effort. A Super-High-Pressure SDMFPC can deliver 10,000-100,000Pa (10-100 kPa or 100 to 1000 mbar) alone and the micro-tubes can beabout 25-30 micrometers in diameter. The cylinder actuator length can be10, 15, or 20 mm long split into several shorter cylinders of 3-5 mmlength and free space of 3 mm in between. Such a pump can be longer (15to 20 mm) but can produce improved pressures at improved volume flowrates. One of the reasons to split the cylinder into several smallerones is to enhance the constructive tube flow entry effects. Bysplitting the pump into parallel-serial combination once can reduce theeffect of high peak power using large actuator drives.

FIG. 12 illustrates a rectified-sine (absolute sine) form illustrating aquick return driving waveform, according to an example. Non-harmonicpumping can be important, in combination with shear forces, to theefficacy of SDMFP pumping. Designing driving waveforms can be importantin SDMFP efficient operation. One waveform can be rectifiedsine-function (absolute sine) followed by a rapid inverted sine asshown. The area under the curve can be equal for both curves (distancecan be the same and the motion can be periodic). The return strokevelocity (and associated Reynolds number) can be about 100 times fasterin return stroke than in forward stroke.

FIG. 13 illustrates a square-type driving waveform, according to anexample. The SDMFP plunger can coast between rapid acceleration anddecelerations.

FIG. 14 illustrates behavior of a non-Newtonian fluid, according to anexample. FIG. 15 illustrates behavior of a non-Newtonian fluid,according to an example. Hydraulic SDMFP performance characteristics canbe enhanced if a shear-thinning (pseudo-plastic) time-independentnon-Newtonian fluid is used as a working fluid. An illustration of basictime-independent non-Newtonian (or Generalized Newtonian) fluids isshown in FIGS. 14-15. One result is enhanced plug like flow of the fluidinterior. This can be especially beneficial in certain applications. Forexample, in pumping blood in coronary arteries where shear rates can besmall enough that shear-thickening becomes important, an SDMFP can beperform desirably.

Drag reduction techniques using Moffat-vortices principle, fish-scalesmicro-geometry, impulse heating and special thin layers can increasefriction drag in one direction and lower it in another, which canbenefit performance. Coatings on the actuator can increase shear in onedirection and decrease it in another, thus additionally increasingvolumetric efficiency.

FIG. 16 illustrates a negative feedback control loop, according to anexample. The SDMFP can respond well to continuous control. A simplefeedback control 1600 can be designed to adjust pump working parameters(e.g., one or both of flow rate and pumping effort). Adaptive controlcan be used. As disclosed herein, micro-sensors can be embedded in amicro-pump and can provide necessary information to microcontroller toregulate pump operating set-point.

Micro-actuators can deliver high torque/force in the return stroke andcan be power-limited. The forward stroke can require much less power butcan be energy-limited. The stroke length can be 0.5 to 5 mm and that hasto be taken into consideration. Most likely actuator candidates can be(1) Micro-solenoid. (2) Linear DC motor, and (3) Piezo-electrictransducer with force/stroke converters. A system can be remotelycontrolled.

FIG. 17 illustrates a method of using a pump, according to an example.Examples can include a method for heat exchange between a heat sourceand a heat exchanger. At 1702 the method can include affixing the heatexchanger to the heat source, with the heat exchanger thermallycommunicative with the heat source. At 1704 the method can includepumping a fluid through the heat exchanger by oscillating an actuatorincluding a plurality of microlumens with a rate differential betweenstrokes. This can include pumping a fluid through the heat exchanger, ata determined flow rate and fluid pressure, by oscillating an actuator ina pump housing extending along a length defining an elongate interior,the actuator conforming to the elongate interior, the actuator includinga plurality of lumens, each having a length extending substantiallyparallel to the elongate interior, each from around 20 to 200micrometers across, wherein an oscillation takes place with a ratedifferential between movement in a first direction versus movement in asecond direction opposite the first direction. At 1706 the method caninclude exchanging heat between the heat exchanger and the heat source.

Optional methods can be used. Pumping can include pumping the fluid at aminimum of 80% of an actuator speed. Pumping can include maintaining aReynolds number of the fluid while the actuator can be moving in thefirst direction to be 1/100th the Reynolds number of the fluid while theactuator can be moving in the second direction. Pumping can includesensing a flow rate and adjusting the oscillation in association withthe flow rate. Pumping can include sensing a differential pressure andadjusting the oscillation in association with the differential pressure.Pumping can include sensing a temperature and adjusting the oscillationin association with the temperature. Pumping the fluid can includepumping at a flow rate of up to 100 milliliters per second, at apressure of up to 40 kilopascals.

Applications

The apparatuses, systems and methods discloser herein can be used influid cooling. The SDMFP has by its nature a wide dynamic range, i.e.,flow rate and net pressure head can be varied over several orders ofmagnitude. This can be something that can be not available with othercommercially available micro-pumps. The forward and return strokefrequencies (periods) can be adjusted over a wide range to delivervariable oscillations dynamics. Due to the high-bandwidth of the returnstroke a lot of space can be left for accurate flow and effort controlwith high resolution. Adding another SDMFP in a circulation system wecan offer flow rates up to 100 mL/min and total effort up to of 40 kPa(400 mbar). On the other hand the same SDMFP can provide accurate lowrates of only several μL/min.

Certain applications benefit from the housing shape and actuatordrivers. External size can be about 5 to 30 mm in length and 5 to 10 mmin depth and 10-15 mm in width and it would be used mostly influid-cooling systems. A microfluidic system that employs pumping canuse this pump.

Various pump applications can include microelectronic cooling,biomedical/medical, space industry, food processing, automotive, andmicro-propulsion (aeronautics and space propulsion). Aerospaceapplications can include use as pressurized fuel delivery for micro-jetengines and/or fluid propellant for micro-rocket engines. Exampleapplications can include micro-thrusters for micro-satellites, forexample for orbital, attitude control, and/or main propulsion.

As the heat release of the new multi-core processors increases the needfor fluid cooling can be more pronounced. Certain examples can be usedto exchange heat with a chip, CPU, IC and other circuits. Heatgenerating MEMS devices can also be cooled. A number of applicationsfrom fluid cooling of microelectronic circuits (e.g., multi-coreprocessors) can use custom cooling strategies (including convectivecooling without phase-change and pool/forced flow boiling withphase-change).

A CPU can release 100 W Peak-Power to be absorbed in micro-channelconvective heat exchanger, transported, and rejected in heat sink. Aheat-sink in existing micro-electronics (e.g., PC's) includes a finnedmetallic heat exchanger air-cooled (forced convection) by the computerfan/ventilator.

The single-phase fluid convection-conduction based removal of heatthrough micro-channels embedded in multi-core CPU can use about 30-60mL/min of water as a coolant and the pressure drop in an entire coolingloop can be on the order of 15,000-500,000 Pa (150-5000 mbar).

For a two-phase heat-removal cooling system that utilizes pool or forcedboiling (immersed cooling) lower flow rates of water fluid coolant canbe used or for the same flow rates the heat removal can be on order of 1kW (e.g., using water phase change). The capacity to remove heat fromhigh-power electronic components can be ten to hundredfold utilizing aphase-change flow system.

If the coolant fluid is distilled clean water (simplest solution) thendynamic viscosity can be 10⁻³ Pa sec (1 mPas or 1 cP) and density can be10³ kg/m³. Coolant can enter a stacked micro-channels or CPU-embeddedheat exchanger pool at, say 40° C. With phase change water warmed up to100° C. (e.g., at 1 bar absolute pressure) the phase-change can takeplace to produce vapor-fluid mixture (bubbly or slug flow).

The SDMFP can deliver the effort at designed flow rate (e.g., capacity).The total micro-pump efficiency can be 10%-30%. The power requirementsfor a shear-driven micro-fluidic pump can be on the order of tenmilli-Watts. The forces necessary to move the actuator can be on theorder of ten milli-Newton. Accordingly the micro-solenoids andpiezoelectric force transducers can power SDMFPs.

For medical and biomedical purposes to assist human hemodynamiccirculation the SDMFP can be installed in vascular channels (body)directly. Many biomedical and medical applications can benefit from ause of highly efficient, low-power consumption, safe shear-drivenmicro-fluidic pump design. Whether it embedded design SD-MFP assistinghuman blood circulation in systemic or coronary hemodynamics for peoplewith cardio-vascular difficulties/diseases or delivering on-demandinsulin for diabetic patients, the shear-driven micro-fluidic pumpexhibits efficient performance.

The pumps can be very small to be surgically inserted into vascularchannels (arteries, arterioles, etc.). Since SDMFP concept can berelatively efficient it can operate for years on small batteries. Forexample, for 10 mW pumping power and with low 20% total efficiency(e.g., pumping leakage and actuator efficiency) an average 50 mW ofelectric power is used by the pump (e.g., 10 mA with 5V source, e.g. aDC computer CPU voltage). If the SDMFP works 10 hours at maximum powerper day (e.g., average power over 24 hours normalized), then for oneyear (365 days) the pump can consume 182.5 W-hr (36.5 A-hr) or 0.1825kW-hr/year.

The peak power required to accelerate the actuator on the order ofseveral G in return stroke can be on the order of 100 mW. Capacitors canbe used to store electrical energy necessary for quick discharge andpeak power. The pump actuating cylinders resemble hollow devices, andare thus light, but have mass that can experience a large number ofcycles. For example, a pump can work over a period of 5 years. Theforward stroke can repeat 2-10 times per second, resulting in around 800million relatively slow forward strokes followed by rapid return strokes(e.g., of a duration of 500-2000 μs).

Additionally, the entire embedded micro-control can be remotelyadjusted. The shear-driven concept can be efficient on the microscales(e.g., 10 to 500 micrometers with no microvalves). The unique concept ofdrag reduction (fish “scales”, special layers, coating, etc.) in thereturn stroke and splitting the actuator into several shorter componentsto improve tube entrance effects in return stroke and reduce pumpleakage.

Various Notes & Examples

Example 1 can include an apparatus to pump a fluid. The example caninclude a housing extending along a length defining an elongateinterior. The example can include an actuator in the housing, conformingto the elongate interior, the actuator including a plurality of lumens,each having a length extending substantially parallel to the elongateinterior, each from around 10 to 200 micrometers across. The example caninclude an actuator configured to oscillate the actuator in the actuatorhousing along the length of the elongate interior with a ratedifferential between movement in a first direction versus movement in asecond direction opposite the first direction to pump the fluid.

Example 2 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein at leastone of the plurality of lumens has a circular shape in cross-section.

Example 3 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein at leastone of the plurality of lumens has a rectilinear shape in cross-section.

Example 4 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator includes a micro-solenoid to be powered by a 5V DC source.

Example 5 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator includes a linear motor to be powered by a DC source.

Example 6 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator includes a Piezo-electric transducer with a force/strokeconverter.

Example 7 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theplurality of lumens comprise from around 60% to 80% of a cross-sectionalarea of the actuator.

Example 8 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theplurality of lumens comprise from around 78.5% of a cross-sectional areaof the actuator.

Example 9 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein themovement in the first direction is a first distance from 0.5 to 5millimeters in 100 to 500 milliseconds, and movement in the seconddirection is a second distance 0.5 to 5 millimeters in 1 to 2milliseconds.

Example 10 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein the firstdistance and the second distance are substantially equivalent.

Example 11 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator is configured to move in the first direction at an averagespeed of around 30-50 millimeters per second.

Example 12 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein themovement in the second direction is at a frequency that is from around100 to around 1000 times faster than movement in the first direction.

Example 13 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein themovement in the second direction is around 1000 hertz, and movement inthe first direction is at around 10 hertz.

Example 14 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein themovement in the second direction is around 10000 hertz, and movement inthe first direction is at around 10 hertz.

Example 15 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein themovement in the second direction is around 2000-5000 hertz, and movementin the first direction is at from around 20-50 hertz.

Example 16 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator is comprised of co-axial cylinders intersected by radialspreaders defining a plurality of curved slits.

Example 17 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein each ofthe slits has a slit-bisecting arc length of from 25-200 micrometers.

Example 18 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein each ofthe slits has a radial width of around 50 micrometers.

Example 19 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein at leastone of the co-axial cylinders is around 50 micrometers in thickness.

Example 20 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein thehousing is formed of at least one of plastic and metal.

Example 21 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein thehousing is at least one of a micro-molded housing and a micro-casthousing.

Example 22 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theplurality of lumens are distributed according to a regular pattern.

Example 23 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theplurality of lumens are distributed according to a random pattern.

Example 24 can include any of the preceding examples, comprising valvedisposed in the actuator.

Example 25 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein the valveincludes a gurney-type valve.

Example 26 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator is made of plastic.

Example 27 can include or use subject matter from any of the precedingclaims, and can include a method for heat exchange between a heat sourceand a heat exchanger. The example can include affixing the heatexchanger to the heat source, with the heat exchanger thermallycommunicative with the heat source. The example can include pumping afluid through the heat exchanger, at a determined flow rate and fluidpressure, by oscillating an actuator in a pump housing extending along alength defining an elongate interior, the actuator conforming to theelongate interior, the actuator including a plurality of lumens, eachhaving a length extending substantially parallel to the elongateinterior, each from around 20 to 200 micrometers across, wherein anoscillation takes place with a rate differential between movement in afirst direction versus movement in a second direction opposite the firstdirection. The example can include exchanging heat between the heatexchanger and the heat source.

Example 28 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein pumpingincludes pumping the fluid at a minimum of 80% of an actuator speed.

Example 29 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein pumpingincludes maintaining a Reynolds number of the fluid while the actuatoris moving in the first direction to be 1/100th the Reynolds number ofthe fluid while the actuator is moving in the second direction.

Example 30 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein pumpingincludes sensing a flow rate and adjusting the oscillation inassociation with the flow rate.

Example 31 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein pumpingincludes sensing a differential pressure and adjusting the oscillationin association with the differential pressure.

Example 32 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein pumpingincludes sensing a temperature and adjusting the oscillation inassociation with the temperature.

Example 33 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein pumpingthe fluid includes pumping at a flow rate of up to 100 milliliters persecond, at a pressure of up to 40 kilopascals.

Example 34 can include a heat exchange system for heat exchange with anintegrated circuit, including subject matter from any of the precedingclaims. The example can include a circulation loop to contain a fluid.The example can include a heat-emission portion in fluid communicationwith the circulation loop and configured to exchange heat with a coldsource. The example can include at least one heat-absorption portion influid communication with the circulation loop and configured to exchangeheat with the integrated circuit. The example can include a pump to pumpa fluid through the circulation loop. The pump can include a housingextending along a length defining an elongate interior. The example caninclude an actuator in the housing, conforming to the elongate interior,the actuator including a plurality of lumens, each having a lengthextending substantially parallel to the elongate interior, each fromaround 20 to 200 micrometers across. The example can include an actuatorconfigured to oscillate the actuator in the actuator housing along thelength of the elongate interior with a rate differential betweenmovement in a first direction versus movement in a second directionopposite the first direction to pump the fluid.

Example 35 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein the pumpis a first pump, and comprising a second pump coupled to the circulationloop in parallel with the first pump.

Example 36 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator is configured to oscillate the first pump and the second pump.

Example 37 can include any of the preceding examples, comprising a thirdpump coupled to the circulation loop in series with the first pump.

Example 38 can include any of the preceding examples, comprising afourth pump coupled to the circulation loop in parallel with the thirdpump.

Example 39 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein the pumpis from around 30 millimeters in length, 15 millimeters in width and 15millimeters in height.

Example 40 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theactuator is configured to oscillate the third pump and the fourth pump.

Example 41 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein the pumpis a first pump, and comprising a second pump coupled to the circulationloop in series with the first pump.

Example 42 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theintegrated circuit forms a part of a computer comprising a random accessmemory.

Example 43 can include any of the preceding examples, wherein theintegrated circuit forms a part of a computer comprising an embeddedprocessor.

Example 44 can include any of the preceding examples, comprising a flowrate sensor to sense a flow rate, wherein the pump is configured toadjust the oscillation in association with the flow rate.

Example 45 can include any of the preceding examples, comprising atemperature sensor to sense a temperature, wherein the pump isconfigured to adjust the oscillation in association with thetemperature.

Example 46 can include any of the preceding examples, comprising adifferential pressure sensor to sense a differential pressure, whereinthe pump is configured to adjust the oscillation in association with thedifferential pressure.

Each of these non-limiting examples can stand on its own, or can becombined in various permutations or combinations with one or more of theother examples.

The above detailed description includes references to the accompanyingdrawings, which form a part of the detailed description. The drawingsshow, by way of illustration, specific embodiments in which theinvention can be practiced. These embodiments are also referred toherein as “examples.” Such examples can include elements in addition tothose shown or described. However, the present inventors alsocontemplate examples in which only those elements shown or described areprovided. Moreover, the present inventors also contemplate examplesusing any combination or permutation of those elements shown ordescribed (or one or more aspects thereof), either with respect to aparticular example (or one or more aspects thereof), or with respect toother examples (or one or more aspects thereof) shown or describedherein.

In the event of inconsistent usages between this document and anydocuments so incorporated by reference, the usage in this documentcontrols.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, device,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

Method examples described herein can be machine or computer-implementedat least in part. Some examples can include a computer-readable mediumor machine-readable medium encoded with instructions operable toconfigure an electronic device to perform methods as described in theabove examples. An implementation of such methods can include code, suchas microcode, assembly language code, a higher-level language code, orthe like. Such code can include computer readable instructions forperforming various methods. The code can form portions of computerprogram products. Further, in an example, the code can be tangiblystored on one or more volatile, non-transitory, or non-volatile tangiblecomputer-readable media, such as during execution or at other times.Examples of these tangible computer-readable media can include, but arenot limited to, hard disks, removable magnetic disks, removable opticaldisks (e.g., compact disks and digital video disks), magnetic cassettes,memory cards or sticks, random-access memories (RAMs), read-onlymemories (ROMs), and the like.

The above description is intended to be illustrative, and notrestrictive. For example, the above-described examples (or one or moreaspects thereof) can be used in combination with each other. Otherembodiments can be used, such as by one of ordinary skill in the artupon reviewing the above description. The Abstract is provided to complywith 37 C.F.R. §1.72(b), to allow the reader to quickly ascertain thenature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with theunderstanding that it cannot be used to interpret or limit the scope ormeaning of the claims. Also, in the above Detailed Description, variousfeatures can be grouped together to streamline the disclosure. Thisshould not be interpreted as intending that an unclaimed disclosedfeature is essential to any claim. Rather, inventive subject matter canlie in less than all features of a particular disclosed embodiment.Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the DetailedDescription as examples or embodiments, with each claim standing on itsown as a separate embodiment, and it is contemplated that suchembodiments can be combined with each other in various combinations orpermutations. The scope of the invention should be determined withreference to the appended claims, along with the full scope ofequivalents to which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: providing a pump housingdefining an elongate interior that extends along a length of the pumphousing, wherein the pump housing includes a piston in the pump housing,wherein the piston includes a first plurality of lumens, and whereineach lumen of the first plurality of lumens has a length extendingsubstantially parallel to the elongate interior; pumping a fluid byoscillating the piston in the elongate interior in the pump housing,wherein, in a first mode, each cycle of the oscillating has a ratedifferential between piston movement in a first direction versus pistonmovement in a second direction opposite the first direction to causemore of the fluid to move in the first direction than in the seconddirection.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, in a second mode, theoscillating has a rate differential between piston movement in the firstdirection versus piston movement in the second direction opposite thefirst direction to cause more of the fluid to move in the seconddirection than in the first direction.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: affixing a heat exchanger to a heat source, with the heatexchanger thermally communicative with the heat source, wherein thepumping of the fluid includes pumping the fluid through the heatexchanger at a determined flow rate and a fluid pressure; and exchangingheat between the heat exchanger and the heat source.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the pumping includes pumping the fluid, wherein a speedof the fluid is at a minimum of 80% of a speed of the piston.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising sensing a flow rate and adjustingthe oscillating based on the sensed flow rate.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein each lumen of the first plurality of lumens has a width in therange of around 1 micrometer to 1 millimeter.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the pumping of the fluid includes sensing a differentialpressure and adjusting the oscillation based on the sensed differentialpressure.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the pumping of the fluidincludes sensing a temperature and adjusting the oscillation based onthe sensed temperature.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the pumping ofthe fluid includes pumping human blood.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein, in a third mode, the pumping of the fluid includes using amotion configured to windmill the fluid.
 11. An apparatus to pump afluid, the apparatus comprising: a pump housing; a piston in the pumphousing, wherein the piston includes a first plurality of lumens, andwherein each lumen of the first plurality of lumens has a lengthextending substantially parallel to the length of the piston, wherein,in a first mode, the piston repeatedly moves relative to the pumphousing with a rate differential between movement in a first directionand movement in a second direction opposite the first direction in orderto generate piston oscillation, wherein the piston oscillation causesmore of the fluid to move in the first direction than in the seconddirection.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein, in a second mode, thepiston oscillation has a rate differential between piston movement inthe first direction versus piston movement in the second direction tocause more of the fluid to move in the second direction than in thefirst direction.
 13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein at least onelumen of the first plurality of lumens has a circular shape incross-section.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising anactuator drive coupled to move the piston relative to the housing,wherein the actuator drive includes a micro-solenoid.
 15. The apparatusof claim 11, wherein the piston is comprised of co-axial cylindersintersected by radial spreaders defining a plurality of curved slits.16. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the piston includes fish-scalemicro-geometry.
 17. The apparatus of claim 11, further comprising anactuator drive coupled to move the piston relative to the housing,wherein the actuator drive includes at least one selected from the setconsisting of a solenoid, a piezo-transducer, a motor, and aforce/displacement converter.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, furthercomprising a flow rate sensor operatively coupled to the actuator driveand configured to sense a flow rate, wherein the actuator drive isconfigured to adjust the piston oscillation based on the sensed flowrate.
 19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a differentialpressure sensor operatively coupled to the actuator drive and configuredto sense a differential pressure, wherein the actuator drive isconfigured to adjust the piston oscillation based on the senseddifferential pressure.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein, in athird mode of the actuator drive, the piston oscillation includes usinga motion configured to windmill the fluid.
 21. An apparatus comprising:a pump housing defining an elongate interior that extends along a lengthof the pump housing; and a unitary piston located in the elongateinterior of the pump housing, wherein the piston is the only movingpart, and wherein the piston moves relative to the pump housing in anoscillatory pumping motion, and wherein, in a first mode, each cycle ofthe oscillatory pumping motion has a rate differential between movementin a first direction versus movement in a second direction opposite thefirst direction to cause more fluid to move in the first direction thanin the second direction.